More Proof
Wednesday is more proof that how you feel before you throw your leg over the bar is no indication of how you'll do once you start turning the cranks. This morning was one of those days where you roll out of bed and everything is an awkward task. I would list the litany of things that support this but we've all had those days when remembering where the fridge is can be a daunting task.
But it all went away when I started turning the cranks. 45 minutes in the saddle with a single 30 LT block, half the normal dose. Had no problems keeping power up and felt good when all was said and done. Don't feel as fresh overall today as yesterday but I'm feeling decent, which is a good enough start to a Wednesday morning. Just about 4 days exactly until the start of the Granogue race. Rock, rock on!
So I got my torx wrench at the Brooklyn hardware store yesterday and managed to strip the fucking thing on the last bolt holding the disc on. Did I mention these things are loctite bound? Luckily, after much toil, I found another torx wrench attachment in the basement that wasn't made of clay and managed to get the thing off. Took off the cassette on the other side this morning and finally got the damn spoke out. Nat is going to stop by the bike shop and pick up a new one for me today. I probably should have a handful in reserve for stuff like this. Actually a spare set of wheels would really be the cat's meow. What the hell does that mean?
Meanwhile back to the hardware store today to get some loctite. Funny that when something breaks around the house, oh like the dehumidifier that's been not working since the fall, I putz around and put it off until it absolutely needs to be done. Like now as our basement smells like a sweaty jock. But when I need a bike tool or part, immediate action is required.
After the wheel is back together I need to clean and lube the rear derailleur. My water-wash of the bike Sunday has left it a tad sluggish in shifting. This is usually a job for the bike shop since it's part of my free maintenance deal but they're just too far away. If I need to I'll head there Saturday and have them tweak it. Let's hope that's not necessary because I want Saturday to be as free and easy as possible.
Then we should be good to go. Looking to roll it out on Saturday for a warm up ride and to make sure I didn't fuck anything up. Let's hope. It's not rocket science so if I don't break anything further it should all be good to go. When it comes down to it as long as I have 3 or 4 reliable gears I'll be all set.
Expecting 2 packages today. One is the bearings so I can rebuild the road hubs. The other is a Garmin 205 GPS unit which is made for the bike and allows me to download tracks that other people have uploaded to the motionbased website. This way I can go and learn new parks without having to have someone lead me around. Not that I mind people leading me around but most people don't like to roll at 6:00 am on Saturday. Why spend your life sleeping when you can be waking up the deer on your bike?
Then tomorrow's package is my Heed shipment from Hammer Nutrition, which is my calorie source for this race. I'm thinking 2 super strong bottles of 500 calories each. One on the bike and one in the camelbak to switch out at the 2 hour mark. Mentally it's tough to stop and burrow around in the bag but you need to take in calories or (more) pain ensues. The other option is one bottle of maybe 600 or 700 calories and a couple of Hammer Shots (basically GU) to top it off. The downside there is that a 700 calorie bottle is pretty damn sweet. I got some unflavored this time so may cut the sweetness down a bit. If so maybe I blow out the doors and pump 1000 calories in one bottle and maybe 60 or so ounces of water on my back. Need to check the weather to see how hot it's supposed to be. Either way dehydration won't play much of a role in a race that short.
OK there's my Wednesday report. Tune in tomorrow as I discuss the relative merits of running a single-speed bike 3 days before my first race of the year, aka fixing the derailleur.
But it all went away when I started turning the cranks. 45 minutes in the saddle with a single 30 LT block, half the normal dose. Had no problems keeping power up and felt good when all was said and done. Don't feel as fresh overall today as yesterday but I'm feeling decent, which is a good enough start to a Wednesday morning. Just about 4 days exactly until the start of the Granogue race. Rock, rock on!
So I got my torx wrench at the Brooklyn hardware store yesterday and managed to strip the fucking thing on the last bolt holding the disc on. Did I mention these things are loctite bound? Luckily, after much toil, I found another torx wrench attachment in the basement that wasn't made of clay and managed to get the thing off. Took off the cassette on the other side this morning and finally got the damn spoke out. Nat is going to stop by the bike shop and pick up a new one for me today. I probably should have a handful in reserve for stuff like this. Actually a spare set of wheels would really be the cat's meow. What the hell does that mean?
Meanwhile back to the hardware store today to get some loctite. Funny that when something breaks around the house, oh like the dehumidifier that's been not working since the fall, I putz around and put it off until it absolutely needs to be done. Like now as our basement smells like a sweaty jock. But when I need a bike tool or part, immediate action is required.
After the wheel is back together I need to clean and lube the rear derailleur. My water-wash of the bike Sunday has left it a tad sluggish in shifting. This is usually a job for the bike shop since it's part of my free maintenance deal but they're just too far away. If I need to I'll head there Saturday and have them tweak it. Let's hope that's not necessary because I want Saturday to be as free and easy as possible.
Then we should be good to go. Looking to roll it out on Saturday for a warm up ride and to make sure I didn't fuck anything up. Let's hope. It's not rocket science so if I don't break anything further it should all be good to go. When it comes down to it as long as I have 3 or 4 reliable gears I'll be all set.
Expecting 2 packages today. One is the bearings so I can rebuild the road hubs. The other is a Garmin 205 GPS unit which is made for the bike and allows me to download tracks that other people have uploaded to the motionbased website. This way I can go and learn new parks without having to have someone lead me around. Not that I mind people leading me around but most people don't like to roll at 6:00 am on Saturday. Why spend your life sleeping when you can be waking up the deer on your bike?
Then tomorrow's package is my Heed shipment from Hammer Nutrition, which is my calorie source for this race. I'm thinking 2 super strong bottles of 500 calories each. One on the bike and one in the camelbak to switch out at the 2 hour mark. Mentally it's tough to stop and burrow around in the bag but you need to take in calories or (more) pain ensues. The other option is one bottle of maybe 600 or 700 calories and a couple of Hammer Shots (basically GU) to top it off. The downside there is that a 700 calorie bottle is pretty damn sweet. I got some unflavored this time so may cut the sweetness down a bit. If so maybe I blow out the doors and pump 1000 calories in one bottle and maybe 60 or so ounces of water on my back. Need to check the weather to see how hot it's supposed to be. Either way dehydration won't play much of a role in a race that short.
OK there's my Wednesday report. Tune in tomorrow as I discuss the relative merits of running a single-speed bike 3 days before my first race of the year, aka fixing the derailleur.
Labels: mountain bike, wheel
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